There is nothing charming or exotic about candlelit dinners in Komani, formerly Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape. Ever since November, when the sun sets, residents in some areas use candles as their only source of light.

Cooking on a gas stove while the neighbours light fires to prepare meals has also become the new normal in Komani. 

The saying that “the night is alive” takes on new meaning indoors. Every time you move, the flickering shadows create the impression that something or someone is following you.

Some even enjoy the shadows, using their hands to make animal shapes — but those playing the game are drowned out by the noise made by people sitting around the fires outside.

The electrical infrastructure in Komani is in a neglected state and power outages are frequent.

Warner Street, Sterkstroom, Flowers Halt and Madeira Park have been without power for almost a month. This is according to Sean Russell of local funeral parlour Russell and Son, and Andre Sieberhagen, a member of the Civic and Ratepayers Association of Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality.

On 9 December, lightning struck a mini substation causing power outages in Magxaki, Khayelitsha, Nomzamo, Phola Park, Railway, Nkululekweni and Melton Gardens.

The power was restored two weeks later, but a subsequent cable fault plunged some areas back into darkness.

I live in Khayelitsha, and not having access to a reliable communications network was a problem. I had to walk to the top of a hill — a kilometre from home — to get a signal so that I could make calls and check emails.

Workers digging in Phola Park were a cable burst switching off parts of Magxaki, Nomzamo and Khayelitsha. (Photo: Supplied)

Spoilt groceries

Some people had to share fridge space with friends and family in areas that had power. One Khayelitsha resident, Zukisani Mdi, said he lost almost all his December groceries after spending close to a month without electricity.

“I kept my meat at my relative’s home, but even there it was not safe because they also had their days without electricity,” he said.

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The outages have hurt local businesses financially — Jomo Jaxa of Esibindini had to buy ice to keep stock cool at a cost of more than R400 every day.

The enthusiastic young entrepreneur said that since the outages in Nomzamo began, he had to let one of his employees go as he was struggling to pay salaries and buy ice on a daily basis.

Seamstress Lulu Nkamana had to move from Nomzamo and rent a room that had power in Sabatha Dalindyebo to finish her December orders. Traditionally, December is Nkamana’s busiest month as she has to make traditional clothes for imigidi (homecoming celebrations for initiates), parties and weddings. 

Old infrastructure, illegal connections

The municipality says the main problems with the electricity supply in Komani are that the infrastructure is old and cable faults have become common. 

“With the increased Eskom load shedding outages, cables usually get damaged by the intermittent on/off switching,” said Enoch Mgijima municipality spokesperson, Lonwabo Kowa.

“The municipality is also facing a huge challenge of illegal connections by informal settlements, households and businesses, which cause system overloads and damages to cables, overhead lines, mini-substations and substations.”

Kowa said vandalism of electricity infrastructure caused outages, and that the theft of copper cables during rolling blackouts had led to further problems.

Enoch Mgijima municipality workers looking for a problem in Enkululekweni. (Photo: Supplied)

Enoch Mgijima municipality workers try to pin point the problem  in Enkululekweni. (Photo: Supplied)

‘Minimal maintenance’

Some Komani residents speak highly of local engineer Andre Sieberhagen, who has been helping to repair infrastructure around Enoch Mgijima municipality.

Sieberhagen said the problem with Komani’s electrical system is that it is over 60 years old and there has been minimal maintenance for decades.

Kowa, however, dismissed the claim and said the municipality has been maintaining its infrastructure.

“There is not one area that is not affected… the municipality does not have enough resources like technicians, vehicles and materials to actually attend to these problems,” said Sieberhagen.

“The electrical infrastructure is… reaching a critical failure where everything will fall apart. Recently, customers have been off for 25 to 29 days. In the central business district, we have constant power outages every time it starts to rain or the wind blows,” he said.

“Businesses are saying that if the electricity problems are not fixed, they will have to close their shops and move away. If a company like Twizza closes because we can’t keep the lights on, more than 800 employees will lose their jobs.” DM

Sgqolana is a  writer for DM’s Our Burning Planet.